Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs: it turns Blue
by CaroAmy
Summary: The outriders are gone, but this might only be temporary. Jesse Blue and Nemesis, or only one of them, is bond to come back and torment the New Frontier once again. What does April's dream mean though? Death?


This is a story I've started a long time ago and finally decided to update and submit. Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs is a cartoon from my childhood which I used to love (and I miss it). I hope you enjoy the story! Please comment!

All characters belong to Studio Pierrot.

* * *

'_Steed, up to the sky!'A voice with a light Scottish accent sounded nearby. A hoarse grunt from the mechanical horse was followed after the order. Two male shadows watched as the mechanical horse, who appeared to be Steed, slowly disappear down the horizon. _

_'Stop him! Don't let him leave!" one of the shadows shouted. _

_'It's useless. He won't listen," the other replied._

_'I can't believe top sword would quit on us. It's just not like him!" the shadow that was standing beside him left his place and jogged next to a crouched, female shadow. Apparently she was crying. Her waist long hair covered her face, her red headband doing nothing to keep it away from her eyes. _

_'Come, we should go inside. This is all very strange. None of us really understands why he decided to leave,' the male shadow tried to comfort her. The sun peaked from between the clouds. No longer submerged by shadows, the male and female bodies could now be clearly seen._

_'Ya'll should have stood up more to him!' the other shouted._

_'Colt, you know we all tried our best. He just decided to leave…with a lame excuse. Come on, let's go inside," the other told him. He carefully helped the female up and held her hand. 'Come, April,' he smiled reassuringly at her. A red lightning cleared the sky of all visible light for a small fraction of a second. At least for the three of them it seemed like all visible light was gone. Once they were able to see around themselves once again they only saw Ramrod, the equalizer unit developed by April beginning to blow up. The first explosion was small and only startled the three Star Sheriffs. The second, and last, explosion not only took the whole transport but it also took three lives. Before it took them though April stared up into the sky and a mechanical horse with a rider on it blocked the sun. 'Save us…' she pleaded, yet the plea never reached her throat. A human body held on to her and pulled her down. 'Fireball,' she gasped as she looked at his concerned brown eyes. 'April… there has been so much left unsaid during some moments. I wish I could have said them at the right time. I guess it's too late now, huh?' he answered as he tightened his grip on her. She slowly managed to caress his face. 'I love you Fireball,' she declared in a more passionate way then she had ever declared before. 'I love you too April,' his declaration followed. _

_'Pardner, it was great meeting you. Great friend you are, race-boy. April, we had our fights but you're an outstanding person. Wish I could say good-bye to Robin,' Colt yelled._

_'Great meeting you too, cowboy,' Fireball and April replied at the same time. Their scarce time had ended and the second explosion sounded, taking Ramrod, taking them and taking…_

…April's sleep. She turned her head towards the small table near her bed where her alarm clock was. 6:30. She still had two hours before the others woke up, but she knew that trying to fall asleep again would be a worthless attempt. Shivering she threw the blankets aside and got off of her bed. The images of her dream still flashing vividly through her mind. _'Mechanical horse with a rider on it blocked the sun…'_. Violently, she shook her head. While opening her wardrobe she wondered if the dream had any meaning. She told herself it didn't, but she only did that to calm herself down. Her unconscious kept flashing the images in her mind. One after the other shivers overwhelmed her curvy body. Quickly she took out her usual red outfit and some underwear and laid them on a nearby chair. Yawning, she left for the bathroom.

After spending twenty minutes under the hot shower, April left the bathroom and entered her room again. Glancing at her clothes she shrugged. _Same clothes in the dream…_ she mentally slapped herself once she thought this. _Of course it's the same clothes. It's the outfit you wear everyday! Get a grip April…_

When she was fully dressed hunger started to kick in. Involuntarily she left the room and walked towards the small kitchen. She knew she should wait for the others to wake up before eating but she was too hungry. Quietly, she opened the kitchen's door and stood in front of it astounded.

"Good morning, April," a sleepy voice greeted her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Fireball. Uh… yes, I did. Did you?" She lied.

"April, you know you don't have to lie to me. What's bothering you? The Outriders are gone, we're finally heading home…we're together, and I love you," he replied worried. With a small sigh April sat down on a chair near Fireball.

"I love you too Fireball… I'm going to be honest. I didn't sleep well, at all. I had this nightmare bugging me all night. It was so real it scared me," she confessed. _Why didn't we run away? We knew it was going to explode…why did we just let it explode and take us?_

"What was it like?" He asked as he reached for her trembling hand.

"I… we… Saber Rider was leaving, with Steed… and we were all sad because of that… apparently we tried to convince him to stay, but he left anyways. All I know about his decision to leave was that it was 'lame' according to you. You came near me and grabbed my hand and for a fraction of a second we couldn't see anything. Colt was a few steps away from us. Then there was a small explosion and… we knew another one would come…but we just stood where we were…I saw Saber Rider in the sky with Steed, he was blocking the sun… Then you told me that you loved me, and I answered. We said good-bye to each other and to Colt… Saber wouldn't help us! We didn't run away… we just sat there until the last explosion came and took our lives…" she declared almost through tears. _Come on April, you're strong. Don't cry. It's just a bad dream…_

"Here," Fireball got up and wrapped his strong arms around her. Softly, he stroked her long blond hair.

"Why did you wake up so early?"April finally asked.

"I heard a soft scream and got up. A few minutes later I heard the shower and guessed you were awake already. I was worried so I quickly took a shower, got dressed and waited for you here. Top sword and Colt didn't wake up though."

"I just did race-boy. You two are awfully close this mornin'," Colt grinned from the door. Fireball unwrapped his arms from April allowing her to turn and see Colt.

"Where's Saber Rider?"

"Still sleeping. Is there anything to eat?"

"I haven't prepared anything yet…"

"Don't worry about it April. I'll make breakfast today," Fireball winked.

"Hey pardner, I don't mean to offend you but I doubt you can even make scrambled eggs,"

"Shut up,"

"Ha, I knew it!"

"If you think I can't cook then why don't you prepare breakfast _and _lunch today?" Fireball retorted.

"Why I can—"

"Hey, calm down boys. There's no need to fight about this," April stepped in.

"Good morning, chums. I see you've started a fight early in the morning," Saber Rider said as he walked in.

"I need to talk to you," April rapidly told him. Worried and intrigued Saber nodded and walked out of the kitchen with April following him. They entered a small lounge room and sat down on a blue couch.

"Would you ever leave us?" She bluntly asked.

"Why, April, where did you get that idea from?"

"Uh…nowhere. Please, answer."

"Of course I would never leave the Star Sheriffs or my friends. The Outriders are gone so we will go to separate ways. We'll probably end up teaching back at Cavalry Command. I really don't understand where you got that idea from," he assured her.

"Well the Outriders might be gone for now but we don't know about Nemesis or Jesse. Anyway I'm going to check if we received any messages."

"April? Are you alright?" He asked as she turned around.

"Everything's fine, don't worry," was her quick reply.

*

The boys were playing a card game at the table while April sat in her saddle in deep thought. Colt seemed quite amused by the game while Fireball looked a little frustrated and Saber Rider simply kept his neutral facial expression.

"I don't know how you convince me to play these games. I never even liked poker!" Fireball complained.

"Aw come on Fireball, it's a fun game!"

The racer shook his head and placed his cards on top of the table.

"I'm out. I'm going to check on April, she's been alone for a while now."

Colt grinned at his friend as he left the room. Saber stood up and grabbed a glass of water leaving the cowboy counting the cookies he won on the table. Indeed the battle had been won, but Jesse Blue and Nemesis could still be out there. Part of Saber was relieved by the fact that the battle had been won and that perhaps both Jesse and Nemesis wouldn't come back, but another part was anxious. Anxious to know just what exactly will happen and if the Outriders will finally leave their dimension alone. If peace was obtained then there would be no more need for the Star Sheriffs, but Cavalry Command would still exist as a defense unit, just in case. However, the numbers would be less and the teams would be divided. A few would stay and work as teachers and coaches for Cavalry Command, but many would lead different lives. _Where would Colt go? He would no longer be a bounty hunter since there are no more Outriders. Perhaps he'll settle down with Robin sooner than imagined, but he would still need a job or a goal. Will Fireball go back to racing? Or will he stay in one place and find another job? And April… she'll probably stay and work as a scientist for Cavalry Command. As for me, perhaps I'll teach the Cadets or… go back home? _

Footsteps shook Saber from his thoughts. He turned around with a cup in his hand and gulped down some water. Colt was looking at him with a somewhat serious face, which was rare.

"What's troubling you? You were looking all concentrated and stuff," he asked.

"Just thinking of the future, that's all. What do you say about joining the other two?"

"Sure thing Saber. Don't you think they make such a cute couple?" He teased as they walked.

They saw April and Fireball standing up, awfully close, looking outside. Both of them joined their friends and looked at the stars as well. Planet Yuma could already be sighted, only a while longer until they got home.

"Only a few moments left until we land boys. Aren't you excited?" April asked cheerfully, her mood seemed to improve greatly.

"Sure am! I wonder if they're giving us medals. Shiny ones like the stars we received when we went to the Cavalry Command base!" Colts exclaimed.

"I don't know about that Colt, but shouldn't you be more excited about seeing Robin? You did run away from the hospital behind her back you know," Fireball reminded him.

"Oh well I hope she understands. I mean someone had to come up here and save you!"

"We should sit down on our saddle units and wait, we should be entering Yuma's orbit anytime soon," Saber Rider said. The star sheriffs nodded and went back to their respective saddle units.

Ramrod, an hour later, was finally approaching the landing lane. While Fireball took care of the landing gear the other star sheriffs waited as the vehicle came to a full stop.


End file.
